reprazentin 4 da ol skool

Monthly Archives: July 2012

What better way to celebrate Canada Day than a rave at Cherry Beach! Still reeling from the aftermath of Pride, I cooled off at a pool party before heading down. I’d heard how much it had changed from the good ol’ daze when people would just show up and start raving in the woods on the east side of the beach. It was strictly through word of mouth, never advertised and all you had to do was come prepared to party well into the wee hours. No dress code, ID, or cover charge required. It was absolutely glorious and too good to last. Due to a thoughtless act of naïve journalism about “Toronto’s best kept party secret” by a NOW magazine writer, cops swooped down and killed the last CB party of the summer in 2006. I was told that since that time, the event had been moved to a different location in the same vicinity, wristbands were required and they were now charging $5. Not to mention sketchies galore. So of course, I had lowered my expectations long before I even set foot on the shore. Boy was I in for a surprise! Hundreds of party peeps were chilling out on the beach, grooving to the bombastic sounds of Rollin’ Cash, LeeLee Mishi, Zum One, Machinelf and more. Everyone was laughing, dancing, have a good time. Sizzling samba satisfied the senses courtesy of CB stalwarts, Samba Elegua, with firespinners scorching the shit out of the scene at nightfall.

It was reassuring to see some familiar faces from the rave and psy-trance community, though we were outnumbered by clubbers and 905-ers somewhat lacking in party etiquette. And there was a bodacious full moon to boot. A full moon party on Canada Day at Cherry Beach? Long weekends don’t get much better than that! Wading in warm water while prog techno bounced and the moon beamed was therapeutic to say the least. At times, the loud pop of fireworks going off made me wonder whether some stoned dandy might not end up losing a finger or 2. The Rave Gods were definitely on duty that night, ensuring that all Ecstaticans remained safe and sound. “This is the best I’ve seen in a while,” exclaimed one attendee. “There’s a lot less sketch than usual.” Sheesh… Maybe frumpy security personnel dressed in black, marching through beach blanket posses whilst wielding flashlights like they’re in a friggin club might have something to do with it. An acquaintance of mine ended up having her knapsack stolen, which really sucked. So if you’re planning to check out Cherry Beach in the near future, watch your belongings! Beach blanket bonanza in effect every Sunday ‘til the end of summer, weather permitting. For the latest updates on CB, follow the Promise lads on Twitter @cherrybeach. Peace out >>>

Another year, another blast of boiling hot weather at Pride Toronto. Judging from the gloriously summerific reprieve in March, I say the Sun God needs to get pissed off at his royal court more often. But the drag queens, naked queers and fruit loops weren’t the only ones heating things up. The super soakers were out in full force, squirting up a storm on Yonge St., cooling things down on the homefront. After my digicam took a direct hit from a recklessly aimed watergun, I decided it was time to head for higher ground. It was then I found myself at a rooftop party overlooking Yonge St., courtesy of ravemate Greg. We watched colourful floats go by while dancing to the sounds of G Money and J Prez. Afterwards, we migrated to Boystown for a piece of the action. Tom Stephan proved to be a crowdpleaser, which came as a relief after Dee-Lite’s Lady Kier’s lackluster performance earlier on while Honey Dijon took things to another level with a smoking set of funked up house.

The afterparty continued at Phoenixwith the likes of Stacey Pullen, Joey Conns, Carlo Lio and Deko-ze. Pullen’s set was more subdued than what I remembered from Fabric,London, but otherwise quite good while Carlo really got the crowd going. Despite having quality DJ’s on the bill,Phoenix never got packed and the party ended disappointingly early around 4. All things considered, I had a swell time and so did most peeps, judging from the overall lack of spew on the sidewalk. Kudos to Pride for bringing people of all different persuasions together to celebrate life, love and music for over 35 years. ‘Til next year – shine on beautiful people!

Dirty Disco kicked off on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon with a mouthwatering line-up of local and international talent featuring the likes of Don Berns (aka Dr. Trance), Robb G, Deko-ze, Adam K, Jelo and more. It was a real treat watching Dr. Trance strut onstage in a Superman suit, while “Superheroes Can’t Be Gays” played in the background. The grand-daddy of T dot’s rave scene then proceeded to drop some dirty ol skool classics from waayyy back in tha day. Larry Tee from London, England, delivered with a floorthumping set while Adam K rocked the crowd at nightfall.

Although Dirty Disco was sponsored by T-D, it was freakin annoying to see their logo flashing repeatedly across the screen behind the DJ’s for up to half an hour during some of the performances. It really irks me to see the corporate world pimping underground culture to promote their interests. Like ravers really need to be subjected to their shitty subliminal messages. And don’t get me started about Rogers trying to cultivate some swag off of Digital Dreams. Next time, it would be wonderful if Dirty Disco’s organizers could grow a backbone and curb T-D’s advertising so it doesn’t detract from the performances, seen? Usually, Dirty Disco is on the main day of Pride (Sunday), but it got shifted to Saturday, apparently as a result of Digital Dreams, which meant it was considerably less packed than the rollicking blockos of DD’s past. Aside from the piggybacking parasitic antics of corporate sponsors, it was good times, especially with guest star appearances by ol skool vets like Uncle Steve, Jeff, Paul, and Greg. Happy Pride Beautiful People!